Princeton computer scientists have developed a new way of tracing the origins and spread of ideas, a technique that could make it easier to gauge the influence of notable scholarly papers, buzz-generating news stories and other information sources. The method relies on computer algorithms to analyze how language morphs over time within a group of documents -- whether they are research papers on quantum physics or blog posts about politics -- and to determine which documents were the most influential. "The point is being able to manage the explosion of information made ...

Magicians rely on misdirection—drawing attention to one place while they're carrying out their tricky business somewhere else. It seems like people with autism should be less susceptible to such social manipulation. But a new study in the U.K. finds that people with autism spectrum disorder are actually more likely to be taken in by the vanishing ball trick, where a magician pretends to throw a ball in the air but actually hides it in his hand. In the vanishing-ball illusion, a magician throws a ball in the air a few times. On the last throw, he merely pretends to throw ...

Conventional wisdom has long been negative on Africa. Historically, it has been seen as a failing continent, plagued by deep-rooted problems — poverty, corruption, war, and disease. But after four decades of relative stagnation, Africa has been growing rapidly. Since the 1990s, many African countries have seen economic and political improvements, more transparent elections, increased democracy and freedom of press. But these successes are not well understood. In 2007, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the leading nonprofit economics research organization ...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 -- Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine. Journalists are invited to Frontiers in Optics (FiO) 2010/Laser Science XXVI -- the 94th annual meeting of the Optical Society (OSA), which is being held together with the annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Laser Science at the Rochester Riverside ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Severe burn injuries in children have been shown to rapidly deplete the levels of vitamin E in their body's adipose, or fat tissues, a new clinical study has found. Stored levels of this important antioxidant were reduced more in a few weeks than might normally be possible in years. An analysis of eight children with third-degree burns over much of their body found they lost almost half of their stored vitamin E in three weeks, even though they were being given about 150 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E and other nutrients in ...

Researchers at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB), an organized research unit in the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa's School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology have made a remarkable new discovery. When most people envision coral, they typically think of shallow-water reef-building corals found along beaches and tropical nearshore habitats. These "typical" corals are dependent upon photosynthetic algae (also known as Symbiodinium or zooxanthellae) found in their tissues to obtain nutrients to live off of. In deeper less known waters, closely related ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A study of the options for reducing cancer incidence and mortality among women who have been treated for precancerous cervical lesions found that an annual conventional Pap smear is a cost effective strategy. Joy Melnikow, professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and colleagues tested several follow-up screening strategies for the 500,000 American women diagnosed and treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), abnormal cervical cell growth that can lead to cervical cancer. The first comprehensive study of its kind, ...

A University of Washington Medical Center patient on Thursday, Oct. 21, will be the world's first recipient of a device that aims to quell the disabling vertigo associated with Meniere's disease. The UW Medicine clinicians who developed the implantable device hope that success in a 10-person surgical trial of Meniere's patients will lead to exploration of its usefulness against other common balance disorders that torment millions of people worldwide. The device being tested – a cochlear implant and processor with re-engineered software and electrode arrays – represents ...

Providing computed tomography colonography (CTC) — otherwise known as virtual colonoscopy — as an alternative to conventional colonoscopy could improve colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates, according to a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). CRC is the second leading cause of cancer in the U.S. "While colonoscopy is currently the preferred test for CRC screening, the invasive and time-consuming characteristics of the test are often cited as reasons for noncompliance with screening," said Fouad J. Moawad, lead author ...

Computed tomography colonography (CTC) — otherwise known as virtual colonoscopy — is feasible in remote health centers where optimal colonoscopy is limited, according to a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). The study was performed at Fort Defiance Indian Hospital in Fort Defiance, AZ, and Tuba City Regional Health Care Center in Tuba City, AZ, both of which are rural medical centers serving Native American, mainly Navajo, populations. After brief on-site instruction, including performing a CTC examination on a volunteer ...

If you're a football fanatic, or if you just enjoy a great party, you won't want to miss Super Bowl XLV. The Dallas Cowboys are hosting this year's mega-event at their brand-new stadium in Arlington. And nobody does football parties bigger than Texans. To take full advantage of the Super Bowl experience, you need super accommodations. Luckily, you can rent a luxury home in DFW TX for the Super Bowl. Located just 15 miles from the stadium in the affluent suburb of Colleyville, this $3 million home will impress your guests with its lofty ceilings, seven different fireplaces, ...

Tarpaflex U.S, the worldwide tarps specialist are going for gold this winter with a large shipment of economy blue tarps for the new London Olympic Stadium. A highly anticipated event, transforming London in time for the 2012 games is a difficult and complex task. Plans and progress are already full steam ahead despite the event being almost two years away. So far, the focus on efforts has been on the construction of the new, world-class Olympic stadium. With building on the 80,000 capacity stadium underway, Tarpaflex has received a large order for blue economy tarpaulins ...

Chef Point Cafe, one of the most respected Fort Worth fine dining restaurants, is holding a competition in search of a new theme song for their restaurant and website. If you are a musician looking for a start or a break this could be your lucky day. The Chef Point Cafe contest is for you. First prize is $100, your song played on http://www.chefpointcafe.org, and featured in a press release. This is the perfect opportunity for start-up musicians who want to build their resume. Aspiring musicians know how hard it is to build a resume; the best way to do so is by entering ...

Destiny Image Publishers will provide an opportunity for unpublished Christian authors to pitch their book projects at its Meet the Publisher event from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 16 and again from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 17, 2010, at Destiny Image Publishers in Shippensburg, PA. The event will also include a publishing workshop open to all from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 16, 2010. "We publish only 120 out of about 3,000 manuscripts a year," said Don Nori Sr., CEO and founder of Destiny Image Publishers. "This event will give unpublished authors the opportunity ...

The abstract, to be presented in a poster session by Dr. Jeffrey Vacirca of North Shore Hematology Oncology Associates, includes the additional data published from an ongoing clinical trial of bendamustine and rituximab treatment for patients with relapsed or treatment refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). "This impressive data appears to give us a new alternative in second-line lymphoma treatment," says Dr. Vacirca in a statement. The poster reflects response data on 33 patients, though as of October, 50 patients have been enrolled. This study is scheduled ...

Promexico, the Mexican government organization charged with the task of strengthening the country's ties to the international economy will be holding a seminar entitled, "It's Time to Do Business in Mexico", on Tuesday, October 26th from 8:00am to 11:00 at the offices of Mayer - Brown located at 71 S. Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Mayer - Brown, along with The U.S. - Mexico Chamber of Commerce will be co-sponsors of the event. After the welcome and opening remarks by representatives of Mayer-Brown and the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Jorge Lopez, Promexico's ...

Green over Grey Designers have completed planting the largest and most biologically diverse outdoor green wall in North America. It is located in Surrey, BC, Canada, covering the Semiahmoo Public Library and RCMP Facility. The unique design is nearly 3,000 square feet and consists of over 10,000 individual plants representing more than 120 unique species. It includes ground covers, large perennials, shrubs and small trees. "This will be our first large-scale green wall in Surrey," says Mayor Dianne Watts. 'It will be a beautiful living work of art that will cover ...

Johnny Cash fans around the world can now tune in to Johnny Cash Radio, a new venture launched by Bill Miller who, along with the late Johnny Cash, founded the official Johnny Cash website 14 years ago. The station, www.johnnycashradio.com, streams Johnny Cash music and content 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "Johnny Cash Radio is a dream come true for Johnny's millions of fans around the globe. We are the source for all things Cash, and our lineup includes programming hosted by Johnny's own family members, friends, former band members and others in the music industry," ...

RICHLAND, Wash. -- A new technique that searches blood for the tiniest remnants of broken down proteins has revealed new information about how cells crank up cancer activators called proteases. The results improve researchers' understanding of the mechanics of breast cancer and point to where to look for possible indicators of early disease. Appearing this week in PLoS ONE, the research shows previously unknown contributing factors to protease activation, which helps spread cancer: cancer cells almost completely chew up small protein pieces that normally put the brakes ...

Curcumin, the major component in the spice turmeric, when combined with the drug Cisplatin enhances the chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer cell growth, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have found. A naturally occurring spice widely used in South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking, Turmeric has long been known to have medicinal properties, attributed to its anti-inflammatory effects. Previous studies have shown it can suppress the growth of certain cancers, said Dr. Marilene Wang, a professor of head and neck surgery, lead author of the study ...

Mutually beneficial partnerships among species may play highly important but vastly underrecognized roles in keeping the Earth's ecosystems running, a group of evolutionary biologists suggests in a study. The authors present evidence that human impacts may be forcing these mutualist systems down unprecedented evolutionary paths. "With global climate change, evolutionary change can happen very rapidly, over a few years," said Judith Bronstein, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the UA's College of Science and senior author on the paper. "That can be a ...

Survival rates of the world's most common cancer might soon be increased with a new vitamin E treatment which could significantly reduce tumour regrowth. Queensland University of Technology (QUT) prostate cancer researchers are leading the fight against a disease which kills 3000 Australian men a year. Dr Patrick Ling, whose research will be a centrepiece of the new $354 million Translational Research Institute (TRI) when it opens in Brisbane, is leading a team of researchers who have identified a particular constituent of vitamin E, known as tocotrienol (T3), which ...

The cells and tissues in our bodies grow, develop and interact in a highly complex, three-dimensional world. Likewise, the various microbial pathogens that invade our bodies and cause infectious disease interact with this complex 3-D tissue milieu. Yet the methods of culturing and studying human cells have traditionally been carried out in two dimensions on flat impermeable surfaces. While such 2-D culturing and modeling efforts have produced a steady stream of critical insight into cell behavior and the mechanisms of infection and disease, 2-D cell cultures have key limitations ...

There has been an abundance of research on the effects of alcohol on the brain, but many questions regarding how alcohol impairs the built-in control systems are still unknown. A new study released in the January 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, which is currently available at Early View, explores that subject in detail and found that certain brain regions involved in error processing are affected more by alcohol than others. According to Beth Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Centre at Hartford Hospital in ...

Exposure to alcohol as a fetus has been shown to cause difficulties in memory and information processing in children New findings indicate that visual perception, control of attention and demand processing may be involved in fetal alcohol-related learning problems This information could potentially be used to help children affected with such difficulties It has been known for many years that drinking alcohol while pregnant can cause serious and irreversible damage to the fetus. However, new research exploring memory deficits in children diagnosed with fetal alcohol ...